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Economic Development

Diamond Trust Bank Kenya is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and has nearly 12,000 shareholders worldwide.The Network’s investment in sub-Saharan Africa’s private sector dates as far back as the 1930s and 1940s, when cooperative financial instituions were created. Thereafter, the scope was extended to other areas such as industry and tourism. Today, the project companies of the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) are dedicated to promoting private initiative and building economically sound enterprises in Kenya and throughout the developing world. Surpluses generated by the Fund are reinvested in other economic development initiatives under the AKFED umbrella.

Financial Services
Incorporated in 1937, Jubilee Insurance is the oldest composite insurance company in Kenya with 70 years of experience. Jubilee transacts insurance business through its subsidiaries across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and is the largest provider of medical insurance across East Africa, protecting the health of over 65,000 people, including many of the region’s blue chip companies. Jubilee is the only composite insurance group listed on all the three East African stock exchanges – the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), Dar es Salaam (DSE) and Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).

Established 60 years ago, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has matured into a fully fledged commercial banking group in East Africa with branches in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. DTB Kenya is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange and has nearly 12,000 shareholders worldwide. Its key shareholders include AKFED, Habib Bank Limited (HBL), which is an AKFED subsidiary, and International Finance Corporation (IFC).

Tourism Promotion Services
Tourism Promotion Services (TPS) promotes tourism by building, rehabilitating and managing hotels, resorts and lodges that contribute to economic growth in an environmentally and culturally sensitive manner. These investments are the result of close consultation with governments, with TPS often assisting them in the development of integrated tourism development plans for specific regions. TPS firmly believes in the development of sustainable tourism and is therefore sensitive and supportive to the natural environment and to the traditions and culture of the local populations with which it interacts. TPS’s reputation for environmental and cultural sensitivity and long-term investment has made it an attractive investor for governments wishing to start tourism activities.

The first hotel ventures in Kenya were launched in the 1970s, when tourism was in a nascent stage. Today, Serena operates seven hotels and lodges. Operating under the brand name, Serena Hotels, TPS owns and manages the Serena Beach Hotel & Spa in Mombasa and the Nairobi Serena Hotel, as well as six safari lodges throughout Kenya. TPS Eastern Africa is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

For more information, please see the Serena Hotels website.

Industrial Promotion Services
Industrial Promotion Services (IPS) was set up in 1963 to provide venture capital, technical assistance and management support to encourage and expand private enterprise in countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Its core sectors include food and agro-industries, printing and packaging, textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather and infrastructure.

Frigoken works with 35,000 Kenyan farmers to grow, process and export quality green beans for the European market..In Kenya, IPS companies include Frigoken Ltd., which provides agricultural extension services to over 35,000 farmers whose beans are processed and exported to European markets. Another IPS investment, Tsavo Power Company Ltd., is a major supplier of electrical power in Mombasa. It was Kenya’s first privately financed “open-bid” project and the first such plant successfully constructed under an updated and more stringent environmental law. Allpack Industries Ltd. manufactures high quality corrugated carton packaging and polypropylene bags for the agricultural trade. IPS has also made investments in wire products and agricultural tools, meat and vegetable processing, printing and packaging, leather processing and garment manufacturing.

Nation Media Group
The Nation Media Group, founded by the Aga Khan in 1960, is also one of Kenya’s most important companies. It has its origins in Kenya’s Taifa and Nation newspapers, which were set up to provide independent voices during the years just preceding the country’s independence. With headquarters in Nairobi, operations include English and Kiswahili national newspapers, a regional weekly, and radio and television stations in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. A leader across East Africa, the Nation Media Group’s success in underpinned by state-of-the-art printing technology, investment in professional development and a highly-subscribed internet presence through its English-language publications.